Wordsley Wharf
Notionally set in the late-1940s/early-1950s, Wordsley Wharf is a fictitious industrial layout very loosely based on the glassworks industry in the Brierley Hill/Stourbridge area of the Black Country. It includes a canal/rail interchange where goods and materials were loaded from barges to trains and vice versa. It is a representation of how the works might combined canal-based transport of goods and materials with the more efficient railway. The structure of the wharf interchange building draws inspiration from the building at the former GWR Bilston Basin that was located a few miles from Wordsley. The real Wordsley Crystal works still sits alongside the Stourbridge & Dudley Canal but was never served by the railway. The photo of the glass cone on the layout backscene is of the last remaining one at the works.
At this point in the fictional glassworks’ history, canal transport has been largely phased out although small quantities of raw materials are still brought in by barge and some finished products shipped out. It won’t be long before even rail transport is superseded by road haulage but for now, small steam locos can be seen shunting wagons through the yard to/from the wharf and into the warehouse. The locos and rolling stock are predominantly GWR mixed with private owner wagons.
Background to the layout
The layout was conceived and built to fit on top of several bookcases to demonstrate what can be achieved in 7mm scale in a relatively small space. The two main boards are each 100cm (L) x 40cm (W) with a 60cm (L) fiddle yard. All trackwork is C&L Finescale with hand-built points. The layout is DCC-controlled with a Megapoints control system for the points. Buildings are a mix of scratchbuilt and modified kits.
Contact info@gogg.co.uk for more information
